State Budget Will Fund New Utility Office

John MittyMonday, March 31, 2014

Hurricane Sandy may have swept through more than a year ago, but the shadow it left behind still lingers, and Long Island officials are still working to correct the flaws in the system which led to so many problems during the super storm. The state budget for this year includes funding for a new Long Island office which will fall under the Department of Public Services. The new office was created the previous year in a bill by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, and will be responsible for regulating utilities in the state.

The office will run on a budget of $5.5 million, and will employ 39 workers. It will be their job to oversee the work of local utility companies that are servicing different areas in the state, such as PSEG, the company which has taken over for the problem-plagued Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). The office will review the operations of these utility companies and determine whether they are operating efficiently or improvements could be made, and they will also review all requests for rate increases. The office will further evaluate whether the companies will be likely to adequately handle major storms according to their current practices. Hopefully with this additional oversight, there will be major improvements this year.

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